Washington Post reports as if it’s a shock: Karl Rove was hip deep in the fruit basket-turnover of U.S. attorneys, including the ouster of U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins in Little Rock to make way for White House political hit man Tim Griffin (pictured).
In the story, Rove says he had no knowledge of a Justice Department letter, later retracted, that Rove had no knowledge about the Cummins-Griffin switch. He has to say disavow the letter because, of course, evidence shows clearly he was in the big fat middle of it.
But internal White House correspondence dating to two years earlier [than the letter] suggests that job prospects for Timothy Griffin, who had worked for Rove in the administration, were a hot topic of conversation. In a Feb. 11, 2005, e-mail, Rove wrote to deputy Sara Taylor: “Give him options. Keep pushing for Justice and let him decide. I want him on the team.”Then White House counsel Miers e-mailed Taylor a month later, writing, “Sara, Karl asked me to forward you a list of locations where we may consider replacing the USAs…”
Rove himself suggested Little Rock, where Cummins was U.S. attorney, as a post for Griffin, reminding Miers in March 2005 that “that’s where he’s from.” The next day, Sara Taylor forwarded some communications about Griffin to RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, who wrote, “let me know his reaction,” according to the e-mails.
The NY Times has similar article. In it, Rove doesn’t disavow influence, but says it was small.
Mr. Rove said he was unequivocal in expressing his desire for Timothy Griffin to be named as a top federal prosecutor in western Arkansas, but said he did so believing that H.E. Cummins, then the sitting United States attorney, was weighing a decision to step aside.
“I was totally for Tim Griffin,” Mr. Rove said. “He’s very smart and bright rising star.”
One e-mail message written by Mr. Rove to Ms. Taylor, the political affairs director, on Feb. 24, 2005, said in reference to Mr. Griffin : “Hire him.”
PS — Attorney Griffin has gotten very serious of late with a daily newsletter/blog roundup of items of national and local political interest. He’ll even send it to you daily if you ask nicely.